After The Fall
by Rebel Song
Summary: Mother Gothel has fallen to her death, Eugene has returned to life, and Rapunzel has no idea what to do next.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I don't own _Tangled_, but I do own a majority of the merchandise. I'm serious. Definitely over 70%.

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The room is silent but for Rapunzel's sniffling. The room had just been glowing, with golden beams of light radiating from Eugene's fatal wound. A sob catches in her throat as she frantically examines Eugene's face. Out of habit, she pushes her hair behind her ear, but it falls right back into her face.

"Rapunzel?" Those three syllables are the greatest sounds she's ever heard. To her disbelief and astonishment, Eugene opens his eyes and smiles weakly at her.

Her voice just a whisper, she asks, "Eugene?"

He wraps his arm around her waist and replies, "Have I ever told you I've got a thing for brunettes?"

"Eugene!" Her tears of despair turn into tears of joy as she flings her arms around him. He chuckles and pulls her closer with both arms, squeezing her shoulders. After a moment, she pulls away to look at him. The colour has returned to his face, his pained expression has disappeared, and the life has returned to his amber eyes. Those gorgeous amber eyes…

Rapunzel had never kissed anyone other than Mother before, and that was only when saying thank you or goodnight. But the joy she feels at Eugene's return begins as a warmth in her chest and radiates out to the ends of her fingers and the tips of her toes and there is a tingling in her stomach that reminds her of how she felt when he took her hand in the boat on her birthday and before she knows what she's doing she's grabbing the collar of his doublet and crushing her lips against his. Eugene lets out a muffled cry of surprise before smiling and gently kissing her back, sliding his hand up into her short hair and squeezing her waist. Rapunzel giggles as his scruffle tickles her chin and she pulls on his doublet, trying to get closer to him. She breaks the kiss with a "smooch" sound and nuzzles her face against the warm skin of his neck as a soft groan betrays Eugene's disappointment. He pulls her onto his lap and squeezes her hip through her dress. His calloused fingers catch on the soft silk of her corset and brush against her shoulder bone. She shivers under his touch, squeezing the fabric of his doublet between her fingers. It feels so right, sitting in Eugene's lap, his arms wrapped around her in a comforting embrace, her arm wrapped around his neck, the other resting on his chest. She can feel his heartbeat against her cheek, and she smiles.

"Eugene?"

"Mm?" Eugene's busy ruffling his fingers through her short hair.

"I love you."

He stiffens underneath her, and Rapunzel's stomach drops. Is she only supposed to say that to Mother? She thought he liked her, but then he took the crown and left her. Left her for those two big men – men who probably had the pointy teeth Mother warned her about. But he came back! He came back and then… And then Mother had stabbed him. But why did Eugene come back if he didn't love her too? Love _is_ caring for someone else, right? She loves Mother and she loves Pascal and now she loves Maximus and Eugene, too. Mother!

Rapunzel pulls away to look at him and wipes the tears from her eyes. "Eugene?"

"I… uh…" He looks away from her, at a spot on the floor, and runs his fingers through his hair. His eyes look distant, concentrating on something that she knows isn't on the floor. He squeezes the base of his neck and clears his throat. "No one's ever told me that before…"

"I tell Mother and Pascal that all the time!" Mother…

"This is a bit different, Blondie."

Rapunzel's chin quivers and she can feel her eyes beginning to water. She sniffles and rests her head against his chest again, raising a shaky hand and gripping Eugene's collar. Eugene takes her hand in his and brings it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against her delicate trembling fingers.

"I can't stay here." Her voice is shaky and quiet. She remembers one time when it snowed and she opened the window on the ceiling to let the snow fall into her tower. Pascal spent hours playing with her in the snow. But Mother came home and yelled at her. Rapunzel cried and ran to her room. When Mother came in to make Rapunzel apologize for making a mess, she wouldn't. There was a huge argument that eventually ended with Rapunzel apologizing. She remembers how upset she was, how angry and frustrated, and how quiet her voice was, despite her anger. Rapunzel's grief of losing her mother is turning into hatred, and she slowly rises to her feet, determined.

Eugene watches, entranced, as she takes the stairs one step at a time, making the last trip to her bedroom. She tears down the curtain that acts as a door for her room and screams in frustration. Rather than tearing through her room, throwing her belongings all over the place the way she wants to, she falls to her knees and sobs silently.

Rapunzel hears Eugene stand up and make it halfway up the stairs, his shackle banging against each step with a clunk. "Rapunzel?"

Her mother betrayed her. Mother wasn't even her _real_ mother! Her _entire life_ is a lie! She wonders if her name is even Rapunzel. Maybe she should change her name, leave her old life completely behind. Mother _lied_ to her! She _stole_ her as a baby! All because of her stupid hair! Rapunzel grabs at her short brown hair and cries harder, her entire body shaking.

She feels the soft weight of her best friend crawling onto her arm, and she looks at him through her tears. He places a reassuring foot on her cheek and she slowly manages to get her breathing back under control. Pascal snuggles up against her neck and purrs.

"Pascal, she didn't hurt you, did she?" Rapunzel whispers. Pascal shakes his head and she sighs, relieved.

Rapunzel pushes herself to her feet and turns to look at Eugene, who's still standing halfway up the stairs, arm pulled out behind him by the shackle, with this bizarre look on his face. It's a mix between astonishment, concern, and complete and utter confusion; Rapunzel can't quite place her finger on it. But that doesn't matter.

"Eugene, we're leaving and never coming back."

"… okay."

She leaves him shackled to the stairs and walks into her bedroom. There's only one thing she wants to take with her, and it's lying right on her bed. Rapunzel grabs the purple flag and tucks it into her sleeve. She turns sharply on her heel and walks swiftly out of her room, down the stairs, and over to a small end table where Mother keeps her things. _Kept_ her things. She pulls the drawer open with too much force and it falls to the ground. The keys she needs bounce out of the drawer. She scoops them up and marches over to Eugene, who is now waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He holds his hand out for her and she grabs the lock.

"Rapunzel…"

"Shh. I need to get out of here. Now." She's fumbling with the keys, having never used them before. Managing to slide one into the lock, she turns it to the right and nothing happens. To the left, nothing happens.

"Rapunzel." Eugene's voice is sterner now. He takes the keys from her and she watches as he skillfully tries all the keys in the lock. The second to last one unlocks the shackle, and it falls to the ground with a loud thud. She turns towards the hidden staircase and Eugene grabs both her hands, stopping her. "Rapunzel."

She stares down at the ground, preferring to look at his feet. Her body is still shaky, her nerves are on edge, and she knows she's going to break down again at any moment.

"Hey." He presses a finger underneath her chin and tilts her head up. "What's going on?"

"What's going _on_? Where should I start? My entire life's a lie, Eugene. My _entire life_. Did you know that Mother isn't my real mother? She spent my entire life_ lying_ to me! And you! You left me!" Her voice slowly increases in volume and she pounds her fists against his chest. "You left me and then you _died_! But before you died you _had_ to cut my hair so I couldn't fix you! You left me all alone and I couldn't fix you because you're stupid! You're so stupid!" She bursts into tears and Eugene wraps his arms around her, pressing her face to his chest, nuzzling his face against the top of her head. "So stupid…"

Rapunzel squirms and untangles her arms from between her body and Eugene's and wraps them around him, squeezing him tight, never wanting to let go. She notices he's trembling too. "Eugene, you're shaking."

"Probably just blood loss," he whispers. A shiver shoots down her spine as his breath brushes past her ear, and she notices her legs are trembling. More than they were when she was angry. Now she's… nervous? Yep, definitely nervous; she can actually feel her chest moving from her heartbeat.

"I need to sit down." Eugene plants a kiss on the top of her head and releases her, then walks slowly over to the table and sits in Rapunzel's chair. He rests his head in his hands and sighs deeply.

Rapunzel sees an opportunity here. Cooking has always been her favourite distraction, and what she needs right now is a distraction.

She walks swiftly past him into the kitchen, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Eugene, would you like some soup?"

He doesn't look up from the table but says "sure."

Rapunzel looks around for the water bucket but finds it upside-down on the counter. "No soup, sorry." Her eyes land on the fruit bowl. "How about some fruit?"

"Sure." A half-hearted response.

She grabs two apples from the bowl, squeezes them and finds their ripeness to be satisfactory, then sets to work slicing and removing the seeds. "So. What's it like?"

"Hmm?"

"Dying. What's it like?"

"Rapunzel, I really don't –"

He stops as she sets a cheese cloth and then a sliced apple down on the table in front of him. She stares at her mother's chair for a moment before opting to sit on the table instead. Eugene gives her a funny look just as she pops an apple slice into her mouth.

"Wha?" Her mouth is full. Mother always told her never to talk with her mouth full. She doesn't care now. She'll do whatever she wants.

"Why are you sitting on the table?" Eugene picks up a slice and holds it between his thumb and index finger. "It's a very un-Blondie-like thing to do."

She chews the rest of the slice quickly and almost chokes as she swallows it. She clears her throat and picks up another slice. "Stop trying to change the subject." Rapunzel pops another slice into her mouth, nodding her head towards the empty chair. Pascal nabs a slice with his tongue and turns a bright shade of red.

Eugene stares intently at the apple slice in his hand. "I don't really want to talk about it." He slides the slice into his mouth and chews it.

"Then I don't want to talk about why I'm sitting on the table, either!" Rapunzel slides off the table and looks around the room for a few minutes, following the trail of brown hair from the foot of the stairs all around the floor of the tower. "My hair _was_ really long, wasn't it?"

"That's an understatement." Eugene chuckles under his breath.

"Why'd you cut it?" He coughs and somehow manages to swallow the apple slice caught in his throat.

"Rapunzel…" His voice is raspy and not all there; like when he was dying. Rapunzel frowns. "I'd rather talk about where we're going and what we're going to do."

"All right." She sits back down on the table and eats her last apple slice. Eugene just stares at her. She stares back at him. "Well, _I_ don't have any plans. You're a thief; don't you have some sort of … secret hideout or something?"

Eugene bursts into laughter. Rapunzel tilts her head; her question wasn't _that_ funny. Was it? He winces and grabs his side. "Sorry… it's just… ha! I never stay in one place long enough to find a hideout!" He pauses and looks around the tower. "Right now, your tower is my hideout."

"It's _not_ my tower."

"_This_ tower, then. And I know it's not an option."

Rapunzel slowly shakes her head. Eugene brings his hand to his chin and rests his elbow on the table. Rapunzel looks at him as he stares down at the cheesecloth. She knows she would go anywhere with this man. Do whatever he asked her to do. She wonders if he would do the same for her, but then remembers he _died_ for her. Her heart swells, and she places her hand over her chest, trying to feel the warmth inside.

"We need to get away. We can't go to the Snuggly Duckling –"

"Why not?"

"Because some of them helped me escape from prison and I'm sure their friends are pissed."

"Oh."

"We can't return to Corona because they're looking for me. We could go to Rennes, but that's at least a two day journey. I'm probably still wanted there, too. There's always Paris or Angers, but those are…" He counts something on his fingers "…a week's journey, at the least." He sighs and looks at her. "Rapunzel, I'm sorr —"

She grabs him by the collar and presses her lips to his again. He lets out another muffled cry of surprise but swiftly wraps his arms around her shoulders and pulls her towards him.

Rapunzel likes this. She likes kissing Eugene. She likes his arms around her, squeezing her, making her skin tingle. She likes the weird feeling she gets in her stomach and she likes how his stubble tickles her chin and she likes hearing his quick breathing and she really likes what he's doing with his tongue, running it across her lower lip, making her heart race and her body tremble. Rapunzel grabs the back of his neck and tugs on his hair as she cautiously opens her lips and Eugene slips his tongue into her mouth. He tastes like apple and his tongue feels weird against hers but it's a good kind of weird and she moans quietly (much to her surprise) and Eugene intakes a sharp breath and squeezes her tighter to him and Rapunzel decides she really likes it when he runs his calloused thumb down the edge of her ear to rest on her cheek so she places her hand on his cheek and pulls away slightly, breaking the kiss. She leaves a smaller kiss on his lips and leans her forehead against his. Eugene's just sitting there, eyes closed, smile plastered on his face.

"Can you promise to do that every time I'm talking too much?" He opens his eyes and finds her grinning back at him. She takes both his hands in hers and looks down at them.

"I don't care where we go. I don't care what we do. I just want to be with you, Eugene." Rapunzel barely whispers it, but she knows he can hear her, because he squeezes her hands. She looks up at him and she sees in his eyes something… different. Good different, but still different. He takes a deep breath and gives her his biggest smile yet.

"Rapunzel, I love you too."


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all your lovely faves, comments, and reviews! I love you all so much!

I had trouble writing this chapter for some reason, but _really_ worked on it today and I'm ready to post it! I still haven't decided how I want to end this story. I'm sure I'll think of something.

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Eugene has never heard a chameleon snore before, but he never imagined it would sound like this: a strange combination of purring, wheezing, and chirping.

Pascal insisted on sleeping out in the main room of the tower with Eugene as some sort of guard dog to protect Rapunzel. Eugene still isn't quite sure whether or not the little green guy trusts him. He's lying on Eugene's forehead, so Eugene decides the frog still doesn't like him.

After a not-so-heated debate about what to do, Eugene finally convinced Rapunzel to spend one more night in the tower so he could plan something. She initially hated the idea, but eventually warmed up to it once he began leaving kisses along her neck and tickling her with his chin. That may have had nothing to do with it. But they were spending the night in the tower.

Rapunzel offered Eugene her mother's bed, seeing as there were no other beds in the tower, but Eugene refused, not-so-graciously. He took a quilt and a pillow from the cupboard and curled up on the floor next to the fireplace. Rapunzel gave him a quick kiss goodnight and headed upstairs.

Flynn Rider wasn't used to only getting kisses. He was used to getting a heck of a lot more. So when Rapunzel pressed her soft, soft lips against his in a goodnight kiss, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer, but she cried out in surprise and pulled away, giggling. That giggling. That giggling drives him insane. All Flynn wants to do is take her - take her to her bed and have his way with her - devouring every inch of her, leaving kisses all over her legs, running his fingers through her hair, smiling as she shouts his name over and over again: "Flynn! Oh, _yes_, Flynn!"

But he's not Flynn Rider anymore. Flynn Rider was a narcissistic jerk who only cared about himself. He always left the girl after saving – and subsequently ravishing – her.

Eugene Fitzherbert doesn't want to leave the girl this time. He also doesn't want to have his way with her – he's realized he wants _her_ to have _her_ way with _him_. Eventually he managed to drift off to a light sleep, dreaming that Rapunzel's tied him to her chair with her hair again and doing very naughty things to him.

A light thud comes from Rapunzel's room, and Eugene's ear twitches, trying to focus on the sound. Pascal doesn't stir, so he urges his nerves to calm down and takes a deep breath just as he hears quiet shuffling coming from the upstairs landing. He turns his head slowly, trying not to awaken the sleeping frog, and stares into the dark. The fire has longed turned to softly glowing embers so he can barely make out the table between him and the stairs, let alone the upper floor.

"Eugene?" It's a soft whisper that almost gets lost as the fire cracks, but Eugene's keen hearing catches it and he swiftly sits up, causing the frog to slide off his face and land on the floor with a splat.

"Rapunzel?" he asks, squinting into the darkness. He still can't see anything, but he can hear her hastened footsteps and then definitely hear her stumble and fall to the floor. She bursts into tears and calls his name again. He throws off the quilt and scuffles on hands and knees to her side. "Rapunzel, what's wrong?"

"I… I tripped over my stupid hair!" Rapunzel shouts, grabbing a hank of her hair in her hand and throwing it at Eugene. It falls to the floor far before reaching him, and he scoops her into his arms, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Why did you have to cut my hair, Eugene? Why couldn't you have just let me go!"

Eugene thinks about this for a moment as he brushes her soft hair with his fingers. Why _had_ he cut her hair? He didn't want to live with the knowledge that she was somewhere out there in the world with her fake mother, completely unhappy and miserable. But there were other options. He knows how to pick locks; he could have easily picked the shackle – there had to be a pin around here somewhere. Or he could have waited until _after_ she healed him. Or he could have just grabbed her mother's knife and killed _her_ with it. But he hadn't wanted to kill her mother, just take Rapunzel away from her horrible prison. Take her and keep her safe.

Rapunzel whimpers and he looks down at her. Eugene can barely see her, but he _can_ see that her skirt caught on her foot as she fell, which means that now her skirts are hiked up above her knees, and he suddenly feels uncomfortably tight in his pants.

"I…" He clears his throat. "I did it to save you, Blondie."

"What?" She looks up at him and he's instantly reminded of their first near-death experience in the dam. "How was that supposed to save me?" She grabs his shirt with both hands and pulls. "How, Eugene?"

She's getting _really_ angry, _really_ fast. "I think I figured that if your mother only wanted you for your hair, if I got rid of your hair, she wouldn't anymore."

"You think? You _think_?" Rapunzel sits up and begins grabbing all the old hair she can find, pulling it into her lap and breathing so loudly she's nearly growling.

"Uh…" Eugene runs his hand through his hair and closes his eyes. He exhales slowly through his mouth. He doesn't think he can deal with Rapunzel being angry with him. He saved her life! He hadn't meant to kill her mother – that was just an added bonus. An added bonus that he feels guilty about, seeing as it makes Rapunzel so upset.

He takes a deep breath. "Listen, Blondie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about cutting your hair. It seemed like the best thing to do at the time." He runs his fingers through his hair again and rests his hand on the back of his neck. "You know me, I don't think straight half the time. The last time I came that close to dying I told this really pretty girl my deepest, darkest secret."

Rapunzel gently places the hair in her lap and looks up at him. "Really?" He nods.

"That really pretty girl was you, by the way."

"I got that." She smiles and buries her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him. Eugene smiles, presses another kiss to the top of her head, and rests his head on hers. He hears Pascal click disapprovingly and move closer to the dying fire. "Hey."

"Mm?"

"Why'd you leave?"

"Leave? When?"

"After the lanterns."

"Oh. No, no, no, no, no, Rapunzel, I didn't leave!" Eugene has an idea. "Would you like to hear the story of the wanted thief and his beautiful princess?"

Rapunzel gasps. It's a quiet one, to be sure, but Eugene hears it. She steadies her voice and says "Yes, I would."

"Our story begins on a beautiful night. The most beautiful of nights, you might say. For you see, today was a special day. Today was the day the wanted thief's beloved princess would see the lanterns up close for the first time, and from a boat, no less! The lanterns were beautiful, and the wanted thief realized he loved his princess. He loved her so much that he wanted to give the crown to his co-conspirators so they'd leave him and his beloved alone. Upon returning the crown to his former co-conspirators, he was ambushed and knocked out. When he came to, palace guards found him tied to the mast of a small boat, crown in hand, calling his beloved's name. They were taking him into custody for stealing the crown, but all he could think of was his beautiful princess, for she was in danger!" Rapunzel gasps. "He could only imagine what those two horrible men would do with her, and that thought kept him up all night. When the guards came to him in the morning, he discovered he was to be hanged for his crimes, and they began to escort him to the gallows. Luckily, the thief spied his co-conspirators in a neighbouring cell and demanded answers. They – well, one of them; the other one doesn't talk much. Actually, he doesn't talk at all – they told him how they found out about his beautiful princess's magical secret: her mother. You see, her mother had kidnapped his virtuous and sweet princess when she was a baby and raised her as her own so she could keep his princess's magical hair all to herself. But he doesn't know that yet. All he knows is that his amazing princess was returning to her personal prison. When our favourite thief heard this, he was outraged! His beloved princess was in more danger than he originally thought! He fought against his restraints and escorts but it was no use. The thief –"

Rapunzel's light snores interrupt Eugene's epic tale of adventure. If it were anyone else, Eugene would be offended that they fell asleep during one of his stories, but it is his Rapunzel, and he knows she is exhausted, so he smiles and kisses her on the forehead. He scoops her gently into his arms and slowly rises to his feet. Grateful that most of his blood has been replenished, he slowly trods across the tower's main floor, then up the stairs and into Rapunzel's room. The candle Rapunzel lit before going to bed is still glowing brightly on her bedside table, and Eugene uses its light as he walks carefully into her room and lays her down onto her bed. She grumbles and curls her legs up, shivering. Eugene takes her blanket and covers her with it, tucking her in so tightly she can barely move. He remembers enjoying being tucked in like this as a child and is glad when he hears a content sigh come from Rapunzel. She stops shivering, smiles slightly, and returns to light snoring.

As Eugene heads back down the stairs to his make-shift bed, he realizes he doesn't know why Rapunzel came downstairs in the first place. He grabs his pillow and quilt in one arm, scoops up a sleeping Pascal with the other, and returns to Rapunzel's room.

When she wakes up, she needs to know he's right there, at her side.

The floor is more comfortable in Rapunzel's bedroom, but Eugene's not sure if it's because the floor's actually more comfortable or if it's because he's in Rapunzel's room. He almost feels like an intruder; this is her sanctum. No man has ever set foot in here before.

The candlelight doesn't illuminate very much in the small room, but Eugene can see outlines of something familiar on the walls and ceiling. It almost looks like a sun, but he falls asleep, exhausted, and he completely forgets about it by morning.


End file.
